A Grip on Sports: Telling the tale of two appetizers is fine way to start a sunny Thursday – and help a charity

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Call it the appetizer. The NCAA Tournament begins today, albeit with just four play-in contests from Indianapolis. That quartet, however, includes a couple of games of interest for local fans. And whets the appetite for the feast that begins Friday.

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• The key game today, of course, begins at 5:40 p.m. on our favorite March television channel, TruTV. The home of “Impractical Jokers” – hey, you name another show on the channel – hosts the Norfolk State vs. Appalachian State matchup. The winner gets Gonzaga on Saturday afternoon.

It’s also you chance to play the role of GU assistant. Sit down, watch tonight’s game and scout the Bulldogs’ opponent. Figure out a game plan for the top-ranked and undefeated Zags. My guess is even you or I could come up with a successful one. After Saturday, though, we better leave the scouting to the professionals.

The other local connection? One of five Pac-12 schools to make the field of 68 has to play today. And it’s the one with the deepest NCAA pedigree. Actually, UCLA has the deepest NCAA pedigree of any school in the nation, considering the Bruins’ record 11 national titles. Which means their play-in game with Michigan State, which tips at 6:50 on TBS, includes more national championships on the schools’ resume than any play-in game ever.

Is it a comedown for the Bruins? Sure. But considering Kentucky, which has won eight titles, Duke (five) and Indiana (five) are not even in the tournament, UCLA fans are probably just happy to be included. Wait, who am I kidding? They are ticked off and probably want Mick Cronin fired. After all, Ben Howland led the Bruins to back-to-back-to-back Final Fours early this century (they were a combined 97-7 in those three seasons) and he was run out of Westwood because he didn’t win a title. And his teams played a boring brand of basketball.

No one should ever think winning is boring. Not even winning a play-in game.

• Speaking of winning, my TV Take foil, ESPN’s Sean Farnham, is trying to win in the best way possible. By making his favorite food, the spicy shrimp flatbread at the Davenport Hotel, a tool for beating cancer.

You see, the hotel and Farnham have teamed up. Every flatbread – renamed “The Farnham” recently after years of the analyst singing its praises on ESPN – sold at the Davenport Tower’s Safari Room during the NCAA Tournament will spark a donation to Coaches vs. Cancer.

Not just a penny or two, either. According to the Davenport, 100 percent of the proceeds for every “Farnham” sold there will go to the charity. I can’t think of a better duo than eating well and helping a charity that fights the scourge of cancer. Not even Bird and Magic.

The analyst sent me a Twitter message last night, saying “any support you can share on this that can help raise money to fight cancer would be appreciated.” Who can say no to that?

Especially after all the times over the past couple years I’ve given Farnham a raft of crud for being the Davenport’s No. 1 fan.

By the way, that won’t change Sean.

• Here is your annual reminder about Mark Few, NCAA success and the greatest coach of all time. No, Few hasn’t won an NCAA title yet. But John Wooden, who retired in 1975 after winning 10 titles in 12 years, didn’t win his first championship until he had been a head coach for 18 years. Even he admitted winning the tournament was a puzzle it took him nearly two decades to decipher.

And it was easier to win it all then.

So, if a guy whose nickname is The Wizard of Westwood took almost 20 years to figure the tourney out, Few can be giving a bit of break on that score.

• With the high temperature ticketed for the 60s in Spokane today, an old man’s thoughts turn to baseball. Why the heck not?

It just seems right. After all, warm weather makes it easier for my right arm, torn apart over the years by overwork, to loosen up. If I could just find someone to play catch.

Maybe I’ll ask one of the sons. A reverse “Field of Dreams” if you will. Or maybe I’ll just look for a concrete-block wall somewhere and bounce a rubber-coated hardball off it as I did 50, 60 years ago. Or maybe I’ll just take the glove out, sit on the back deck, oil it and remember.

Remember youthful days on fields in Sierra Madre, where our 8-year-old rightfielder sat in the dirt and played with his Matchbox cars. Or the nights pitching against a wall, on guard against the comebacker getting by, rolling down the driveway and ending up in Arcadia before it stopped. Or the dirt fields we played and practiced on in high school, with the backstops that extended out in a cone shape to home plate. Or to the almost-perfect college days. Or the nights playing slowpitch for corporate teams in SoCal. Or the summers spent traveling all over the Northwest playing fastpitch. Or the late spring afternoons in the backyard throwing plastic golf-ball soft-toss to the boys. Or the hot days in Spokane to Houston to everywhere in-between, tossing batting practice as they honed their swings.

My poor right arm. It was never all that strong to begin with. And it wore down over the years. These days it complains about it the overuse every once in a while – like this morning, which is why it is getting its due here – and has asked me never to call on it to throw a ball again.

It’s more than fine resting on its laurels. I guess I will have to be as well.

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Gonzaga: The favorite board game in the Grippi household? Well, before the pandemic the extended clan would get together on Sunday nights and play Catan. Which gives us one thing in common with the Gonzaga basketball program, as this Jim Meehan story shows. … Jim shares the news Few is once again a finalist for the Naismith Award. He won it in 2017. … A couple of the GU women, Jenn Wirth and Jill Townsend, earned honorable mention All-America status yesterday. Jim Allen has the story. … Jim also has a piece on Belmont, the Zags’ first-round NCAA opponent. … Former President Barack Obama is picking the Bulldogs to win it all. Carolyn Lamberson has that story. … Larry Weir spoke with Tom Hudson for the latest Press Box podcast. … If you need another Corey Kispert story, this one is worth your time, doggone it. … And we can pass along another story on Few as well. … And one on the program. … Elsewhere in the West Coast Conference, next season will be crucial for Saint Mary’s. The Gaels’ 2020-21 wasn’t their best. It ended last night with another close loss, this one to Western Kentucky in the NIT. One bad year is fine. Two consecutive ones would cripple Randy Bennett’s program. … Mark Pope didn’t expect to be BYU’s basketball coach. Team doctor, maybe.

WSU: The baseball team picked up another win. … The volleyball team was hit by a double whammy yesterday. It has been sidelined by COVID-19 issues, which forced the cancellation of this week’s series with Washington. And the father of outside hitter Charity Bradley, former BYU and NBA player Shawn, revealed yesterday he had been in a bicycle accident and is dealing with paralyzing injuries. … Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, Utah just couldn’t wait. And it shouldn’t have. The Utes’ athletic director has no regrets. … Washington has an opening on its staff. Cameron Dollar is leaving again. … The teams in the NCAA bubble, including Oregon State and its star Ethan Thompson, have unforeseen problems that can make those of outside smile. … USC hopes to use the bubble atmosphere to build a run. … On the court, Oregon expects a challenge from VCU’s defense. … A win over Georgetown would cement Colorado’s 2017 recruiting class as its best ever. Included in that group is McKinley Wright IV. … A couple Arizona players are in the transfer portal. … In football news, a Utah linebacker decided to play another season. … Fans will be allowed at Arizona State’s final spring practice. … Finally, Oregon State’s trustees decided not to decide the fate of the school’s president. That news wasn’t met with lots of praise.

EWU: We have to start this section with a disclaimer: I’ve known the Groves family for more than a decade and coached Jake for a spring and summer of travel basketball. But that’s not the reason I’m recommending Ryan Collingwood’s story. I would if it were about a family from Wherever, USA. … This isn’t the first NCAA rodeo for the Eagles. But how do they compare to the other two teams that played in the tournament? Ryan wanted to know, so he asked members of those squads. … Bill Self knows EWU will be hard to guard. Ryan has that story as well. … Kansas will have its best big available. … Jacob Davison has seen his role change over the season. John Blanchette’s latest column delves into that transformation and addresses what it means for Davison and the Eagles.

Whitworth: For five of six Pirate seniors, their basketball careers will end, fittingly enough, with two games against Whitman. Dan Thompson has their story.

Preps: It’s a busy week in the prep arena and will be a busy spring in prep arenas, as Steve Christilaw’s story details. … Dave Nichols has a feature on Mt. Spokane’s volleyball Allen sisters and one on West Valley goalkeeper Madison Maloney. … He also previews this weekend’s football action. … Finally, Dave has a roundup of Wednesday’s contests. … In two virtual forums, the new downtown stadium proposal received wide support. Jim Allen has more in this story.

Mariners: Julio Rodriguez hit a bomb. And everyone is still talking about it. … James Paxton has no problem helping young pitchers who may take his spot someday. … The M’s lost despite Evan White’s grand slam. … Felix Hernandez’s arm is bothering him.

Seahawks: The Hawks made a free agent move yesterday and a trade. Both were to help the offense up front. Do you think Russell Wilson is happy? … Free agent tight end Gerald Everett has hurt Seattle in the past. … The team traded a draft pick for Raider guard Gabe Jackson.

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• One more thought in a morning full of them. Why doesn’t Few have a cool nickname? Something like The Mark of Excellence? Though, you know, actually witty and smart and fitting, unlike something I would dream up? I guess nicknames are something that reside only in the past, like my right arm’s ability to throw a ball. Until later …